Never Too Close For Comfort
by Pimino
Summary: When their days turn for the worst, the downcast brothers rely on one another for some much needed comfort. A series of fluffy ficlets set in the 2k12 'verse.
1. Michelangelo

He eyed it questionably.

He had almost missed it when he stormed into his secluded bedroom and exasperatedly flopped onto his bed. Luckily, he was able to steady the wobbly glass of milk before it tipped and leaked all over the bedside table. The warm plate of brownies next to it wouldn't taste so good if it was drowned in the refreshing white liquid. That would've been a serious downer.

But it's not like his day could've gotten worse. He had been told off by his entire team while on patrol. Apparently, it's entirely unacceptable that he accidently blew their cover while sneaking up on some Purple Dragons. "Accidently" being the magic word. He was only trying to better position himself and that trashcan just _happened_ to be in his way.

And if that wasn't bad enough, one of the punks was able to slip away with whatever stolen goods he carried, and everyone (including Splinter!) blamed it on him. Because of that false accusation, he was forced to listen to at least an hours' worth lecture from their sensei. Geez, he could practically recite every single one of his father's excessively expressed words.

However, this questionable plate of steamy chocolate chunks drowned any previously disturbing thoughts. It did, though, bring up a fair amount of questions such as who had left it for him. He's supposed to be the chef of the family; everyone else only masters in the art of boiling up some ramen noodles. He sure as shell didn't make it for himself, and he was positive that if his siblings had tried to, they would've set it in flames.

Besides, everybody seemed to be on wit's end with him – especially a certain hothead. The maniac was growling, muttering, and occasionally went off the deep end the entire walk back to the lair. No one dared to disturb him while he was in that state of mind. Even when they were in Sewer Sweet Sewer, the second eldest practically ripped the punching bag to shreds. Therefore, the young turtle wouldn't be surprised if the delectable looking brownies in front of him were stuffed with a dose of poison.

He sighed at that thought, pushing the plate further away from him. The guilt tugged at him for the umpteenth time. He really didn't mean to ruin the mission (again). He never really does. These problems just seemed to.. _happen_, and he's always caught in the crossfire. But who knows; maybe he really was the screw up everyone referred him as.

Rubbing tiredly at his eyes, the young terrapin chanced a second glance towards the alluringly warm plate. He doesn't deserve it. He should probably be doing some extra training with Leo so he doesn't mess everything up the next patrol. But if the rest of his family thought the same, why did they leave him these scrumptious, double-layered, chocolaty flavored treats right under his nose? And most importantly, they weren't burned to a crisp either!

The temptation was too strong after mere seconds. Cautiously, Michelangelo reached over and raised the biggest piece he could find with greedy fingers. Soon enough, he was munching that irresistibly heavenly godsend in his mouth with his baby blue eyes closed in utter bliss. With each prolonged chew, he felt his worries melting away with the soft chocolate in his smiling mouth. If they were poisoned, he couldn't care less at that point.

Meanwhile, Leonardo pulled away from the doorway he was peeking through and matched the smile of his brother. It was the goofy grin of the youngest that could tear through the darkest situations like a beacon. When that light was gone, Mikey disappeared with it.

And so, the leader had put his heart and soul into his efforts just to see it flicker back on again.

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><p><strong>AN**

**This was a suggestion from a friend(:**

**Should I continue this with the other brothers, or is this good enough? Heh, I have no idea what I'm doing..**

**Reviews are welcomed !**


	2. Raphael

_37…_

_38…_

_39…_

Each number mentally ticked off in his head was paired with a brutal punch to the worn-down sandbag. Vaguely aware of a stinging sensation pricking his hand, he glanced down and hardly took into account the crimson liquid seeping from his knuckles. Whatever; he'll just patch those up later.

_40…_

_41…_

_42…_

_4–_

"Great," he muttered as a small tear in the thick fabric split further. He's going to have to stitch that back up.. again.

It's a frequent consequence when he attempts to blow off steam after an infamous argument with the leader. That day, their verbal fight had shot through the roof and he had taken a swing. Leonardo was really pushing his buttons with that smug look of his and that know-it-all posture he strutted around with. His blue mask was the perfect target for a fist that was itching to punch it in. But, of course, Mr. Perfect Child (who wasn't so perfect anymore considering the purple-bluish tint between his eyes) had their sensei's support, which led to two hours of meditation and too many chores to count for the hothead.

His blind fury overriding his common sense, he struck the punctured punching bag, not giving a second thought to the golden sand pouring out in heavy streams.

_44…_

_45…_

_46.._

The door of the dojo slid open, but he continued his merciless rampage. Having an audience didn't make him self-conscious like a certain blue clad turtle – in fact, it gave him motivation to show his brothers not to mess with him.

_47…_

_48…_

_49…_

_50…_

A figure slipped into the dojo, carefully strode over to the corner of the room, and just… sat there, watching him. What the shell?

_51…_

_52…_

_53…_

_54…_

He felt the eyes boring into him, and the curiosity finally killed the cat.

"What the hell do you want?" he spat, never faltering in his uncalculated attacks. He bet that if Fearless were there, the leader would have a few choice words about his sloppy form. It's okay; he wouldn't have listened anyways.

He saw the figure shuffle on the floor in his peripheral vision. "Nothing," the voice plainly stated. "Just making sure I know who spilt all this sand over the floor so Sensei doesn't make me clean it up later. I can blame it on you."

"Fuck off, Mikey," Raphael growled. He had lost count by this point and was blindly pummeling his poor opponent.

"Okay, okay, I'll be good," Michelangelo complied. He watched his brother relentlessly tear the sandbag to shreds and frowned in disapproval. "Whaddya think is shoved up Leo's shell lately?" the youngest questioned after a few tense moments. Raphael barked out a bitter laugh.

"Surprised you're talking so lowly of Fearless," the older of the two breathed, punctuating each word with another punch. "Everyone seems to enjoy kissing his ass lately."

Michelangelo slowly stood and stretched out his limbs. "I dunno, he just seems a lot more irritating than usual, don't you think?" he yawned as if uninterested.

"For once, I agree with you," Raph growled. "If he would've just kept his mouth shut and didn't spring Splinter into our own personal problems, everything would be just fine - but _no!" _With a final brutal swing, the punching bag tipped off it's stand and fell to the floor. Raphael practically howled in irritation. "He's such a 'hotshot leader' up on the surface, taking down enemies three times as big as me, but when it comes to our measly little fights, he's suddenly doesn't have the balls to fight for himself?!"

When Mikey didn't respond, Raphael spun around to face him and continued, "I swear, every time we get into an argument, he always says he's 'taking the higher road' but he's _really_ just fucking running away! It's so goddamn annoying!"

"Well... maybe he just doesn't want to fight with you, Raph," Mikey quietly stated. His serious tone of voice and the sympathetic glint in his soft blue eyes stopped the hothead short in his heated tracks. "I mean, he's always going on about us being a good team and working together, and that could be kinda hard when you guys are knocking each other's brains out."

"Pfft, whatever," Raph scoffed, glaring into the baby blue irises. "If Fearless really didn't want to fight with me, he wouldn't be as stuck up as he is."

Mikey shrugged and moved his thoughtful gaze away from his brother's fiery eyes. "He could say the same about you being temperamental all the time, you know."

"Since when did you start saying reasonable sentences?" Raphael snapped, turning back around to reset his fallen punching bag. It was a low blow, but he didn't know how else to respond to his brother. What he said was probably true, as much as Raph hates to admit it.

"Well if you guys ever actually listened to me, you would realize that I'm pretty smart," Mikey grinned with pride on his every feature.

Raph released a breathy laugh. "I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, there's a microscopic possibility." He stood back as the sandbag was back in place and raised his fists. Without hesitation, he effortlessly threw a punch. And another. And another.

"Poor punching bag, what did it ever do to you?" Mikey soothed as he faked concern.

Without wavering in his actions, Raph grumbled, "Better than Leo's annoying face, ain't it?"

A small tug worked its way onto the corners of Raphael's mouth as Mikey laughed. "Yeah, probably. Why didn't you realize that earlier? I'm 99.9 percent sure that the bruise on his face is gonna be there for the rest of the week."

Raphael ignored that comment and continued to release his anger, but the youngest couldn't help but notice that his punches were a little less meaningful. His features lifted into his trademark mischievous manner. "Wanna spar, Raphie?"

At this, Raph slowed down his actions and looked over his shoulder at his baby brother. A deadly wicked smile etched onto his face as he challenged, "Sure. You've done a lot more to me than this stupid punching bag ever will."

Michelangelo beamed widely as he took his defensive stance. "Well then, come at me, bro."

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><p><strong>AN**

**Welp, I guess I am just going to update this sporadically(: These ficlets help when I am writing my other fluffy stories.**

**Thank you for the kind reviews! I'm glad you all enjoyed it. Who doesn't love a puff of fluff every once in a while?**

**Also, I hope this chapter was okay; I wrote what I believe the brothers would do in these situations in order to keep them in character. So no kissing or giggling or any stuff like that, sorry..**

**Reviews are welcomed !**


	3. Donatello

It was just another fight with the Kraang. Just another normal day as a mutant turtle trained in the arts of ninjitsu. But there's one thing that didn't change: him.

That stupid stick of his finally pulled the last straw. Come on, how are you supposed to even think about going into battle against alien technology when all you have is a six foot stick? Is it even possible to win?

For Donatello, he had all the questions, yet none of the answers. So now, as he sat in his reclusive lab, he irritably laid his head down on the edge of his cluttered desk and gently squeezed his eyes shut. Not having knowledge always gotten under his skin. That's why he spent hours and hours of research on simple questions such as "Why is the sky blue?". And although his brothers might tease him for blabbering on and on about the countless pieces of information he has gathered throughout his lifetime, it gives him peace of mind to be aware of even the smallest of facts in order to be prepared for the unexpected.

However, on that particular day, he was not prepared for the unexpected.

Donatello glanced down at his injured hand and groaned. It wasn't because of the pain that throbbed mercilessly throughout his entire arm, but rather out of utter irritation. He should've seen that Kraang droid coming at him with a plasma dagger sooner, but by the time he had gotten over the fact that his bo staff had broken for the umpteenth time, it was far too late. He had dropped his shattered stick and whipped out his hand in order to block the blow that was intended for his head.

_Way to go, hotshot._

The lab door then creaked open, but the distressed scientist didn't bother to turn around. Judging by the steady rhythm the soft footsteps approached him with, he could instantly tell who it was. Although, he could much rather go without one of his brother's infamous lectures at the moment.

"How is it?"

Donatello drummed his good hand against the desktop as he refused to turn around. "Not much better. It's only been a few hours."

"A few hours is actually a long time when you think about it, so taking your hand out of the picture, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Don irritably parroted, drumming his fingers with more intensity. "I mean, getting slashed in the hand I use for that particularly infuriating staff of mine isn't exactly my ideal way of going out, Leo."

A rasping of a chair across the ground indicated that his eldest brother had come right up behind him. "You aren't out, Don. Sure, you might be injured, but that doesn't mean you're done for."

"That's a matter of opinion," Donnie stubbornly replied. "I feel like I failed either way."

Abruptly, a hand rested on the scientist's shoulder and gently yanked, spinning him around in his swivel chair. Donatello slightly shied away from his brother's steel, sapphire gaze.

Leonardo studied him for a few short moments. Then, removing his hand from his brother, he sighed. "You didn't fail, Donnie. You can't expect yourself to be perfect. It's just not going to happen, and the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be."

"But I just feel like… like I got the worst of almost everything," Donatello countered. When his leader's eyes flickered with confusion, he let out a deep sigh. "I'm not the best fighter, I'm not the favorite student, I'm not the strongest in the family. Sometimes, I feel like I'm just here to be here – like I'm just here to run some mathematical problems, and after that, I'm no longer needed." He rubbed tiredly at his eyes before dramatically letting his hand slap back down on his leg. "Shell, even half of my inventions hardly ever work. What good am I for this team?"

Leo bit the inside of his cheek, contemplating the insecure words his brother had just dared to murmur. Then an idea hit him hard.

"So, are you pathetic?" he blandly stated.

"…Yes."

"Are you worthless, completely meaningless?"

Donnie swallowed. "Yes."

"Would you be better off dead?"

Donatello gazed at his brother in astonishment. "Where are you going with this, Leo?"

Leo shrugged. "I'm just asking."

"Well, you can stop now." Donnie turned back to the computer behind him and turned it on, making it a point that he was done with the conversation. Much to his dismay, Leo didn't back down so easily.

"Why don't you want to answer?"

"Why do I need a reason?"

"There's a reason behind everything."

"Exactly, so what's your reason for all these questions?"

Leonardo walked around to the front of his brother, seating himself on the edge of the desk right beside the flashing computer screen. Donnie, however, didn't seem to notice his position change. Or at least he didn't acknowledge it. Leo frowned.

"I just want to understand what's going on in there." Leonardo lightly tapped the side of Donatello's head, making the genius turn to face him. "Why don't you help me out?"

Donnie only faintly shook his head before turning back to his computer. He clicked random files in order to keep himself distracted from the other's questioning gaze. "It doesn't matter."

"What doesn't matter? You?" Leo plainly questioned as if he were simply asking 'What do you want to eat?'.

"Will you please _stop?_" the younger turtle suddenly snapped. He leaned back in his chair but refused to look at his leader. Leonardo, on the other hand, trained his icy blue pools on his brother's harshly paling face.

"And what exactly do you want me to stop, Donatello?" the eldest pressed. "To stop making you think? To stop giving voice to what you're feeling on the inside since you won't do it yourself?"

Suddenly, Donnie jumped onto his feet and made a beeline to the lab door. He had had enough of this. Just as his hand closed around the door handle, his brother was by his side with an unnatural speed that only Leonardo could possess. Leo pushed one of his own hands against the door, refraining Donnie from leaving.

"Let me out."

"Answer."

Donatello loosely crossed his arms and chewed his bottom lip. "I already have, Leo, so would you please let me out so I can get some food?"

"No," Leonardo disagreed at the excuse, still blocking his brother's only escape. "I believe _I _have answered for you so far. Use that big brain for something other than running numbers, Don; use it to think for yourself."

The door gently creaked as Don leaned tiredly against it, the plates of his shell scratching uncomfortably against the cool metal. Instead of giving his concerned brother a response, he shook his head for a second time. Leonardo let out a breath of unnamed emotions.

He let his hand drop from the cold metal as he softly spoke, "Well then, I guess I'll just answer everything for you, Donnie. It's not true. You're so much more than a calculator for this team. You have not only the much-needed wits, but also the calm and steady attitude that we all need no matter how much we deny it. I mean, come on, we all know Raph is just a ticking bomb, Mikey is a straight out goofball, and I'm stressed almost every day of the week." Leo rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at his brother. Donatello was looking everywhere else but him, and Leonardo swallowed hard. "Trust me, Donnie. You're very important to us all, and you don't need to be a grand master ninja in order to make that true."

Donatello didn't reply. Leonardo craned his neck in order to meet his brother's eyes. The soft brown irises were glistening and slightly glazed over with countless emotions. Instead of further pressing him, Leo once again put a hand on the other's shoulder and gave him a warm smile.

"Well, before Raph calls me out for being a sap, do you want to go get some pizza before Mikey single-handedly finishes it all?"

And at that, Donnie smiled as well.

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><p><strong>AN**

**Well, I don't know, I sorta liked this one. I feel as if there isn't enough Donnie and Leo fluff. **

**In fact, I feel as if Donnie doesn't get enough attention overall. He's such an important addition to the team, and this chapter is basically what I feel about him. I don't know; I am a weird person(:**

**Until next time ~**


	4. Leonardo

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in … sigh … breath in again …

Breathe... wait, in or out? How could he possibly forget how to _breathe?_

"Just focus," he gently murmured to himself with a somewhat forced calmness.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, b-brea… – aaaaaaaaachOOO!

Recovering from his sudden outburst, the leader sniffled up some lingering residue and straightened again. However, the attempt to re-center himself was useless. Not only was the musky scent of the burning candles around him nearly suffocating, but his mind was also constantly wandering off in search of the peace he required to meditate.

He scoffed lightly at that thought. He couldn't possibly find any peace in the current muck he was stuck in. Uncrossing his tightly folded legs in front of him, Leonardo squeezed shut his exhausted eyes and deemed it time for a well-needed break.

That break, though, was constantly overrun with the opinions of his gloomy and overly stressed mind – and not to mention the dismaying thought of his particularly infuriating brother.

At that, Leo sighed heavily and shifted uncomfortably on the floor of his bedroom. Why his orders are always questioned is a mystery to him. As a leader, he only wants the best for his team. As a brother, he just wants his family to make it home safely. It's hard to achieve both of those factors when someone is always arguing his plans/orders/ideas/everything else that he comes up with. And, as much as he hates to admit it, he's getting fairly frustrated.

_No, leaders don't get frustrated. They work around the problems, not linger on them. Breathe. Just breathe._

"Leo."

Taking in a sharp breath, Leo jumped in surprise at the voice. He was so focused on his current (and not so unfamiliar) predicament he hadn't even taken into account the new figure that resided in his bedroom. And that figure, however, was the center point of his anger.

Leo shut his eyes again as if nothing had happened. "What do you need?"

"You can't seriously just sit locked up in your room all day, Fearless."

"Has it ever occurred to you that people lock their doors for a reason?" Leonardo snapped. However, he managed to keep it light. He knew that he had to be the somewhat calm one because no one else would. Especially this brother of his.

Raphael twirled the sai he had used to pick the lock and placed it back in his belt. "Hasn't crossed my mind before. Besides; we need to talk."

"Talk?" Leo let out a breathy laugh at the suggestion, faintly amused. "More like fight, Raph. We both know that talking never works for us."

Raph took a step forward, arms crossed over his plastron. "So, what?" he irritably questioned. "We just going to let this drag out and have you be all mopey for the rest of the week?"

"But that's how it's always been. I don't see what the confusion is about right now."

Raph bitterly laughed, shaking his head in incredulity. Leaning up against the wall, he studied his brother who still hadn't even bothered to open his eyes. The smug look on his candle-lit face made the hothead heat up with familiar anger.

"Damn Leo, would you just stop that for once?"

"Stop what?"

"Stop… this," Raphael explained, gesturing his hand over the length of his leader's body. Finally, sapphire irises slipped open to look into emerald ones. Raph scowled. "It's like you _want_ to fight every day and then refuse to try and work everything out. Then you have the audacity to be pissed off at _me?_ You just seem to love watching Splinter chew me up and spit me back out, don't ya?"

"That's not true, Raphael," Leo breathed, lazily directing his gaze towards the intricate designs on the rug beneath him. "I've tried to talk things out with you so many times in the past, but they never ended well. They only made things worse. You and I both know that, so I think this is the best course of action, don't you?"

"No, it's more like running away like a fucking coward."

Leonardo looked upwards and shot his brother a look, presumably about his foul language, but Raph couldn't care less. As long as it wasn't Splinter who had caught him with his colorful language, everything was right with the world.

When Raphael didn't budge under the steel glare, Leonardo heaved out a sigh. Just another point that Raph will always refuse to listen to, right?

"It's not running away," Leo heavily stated. He wasn't even sure if he believed his own words. Yet he continued. "It's giving us time to ourselves so we can cool off individually."

"Well I think that's pretty damn stupid," Raph remarked, rolling his eyes. "I'm here right now, so are you gonna send me away or are you gonna to make a change in your routine for once and actually talk to me?"

Silence was the answer Raphael received. His brother was still mentally tracing the lines and curves on the rug, and after a few long moments, Raph irritably turned towards the door. If Fearless is gonna be so stubborn, so be it. But before he could even come within an arm's reach of the doorknob–

"Fine, I'll talk: Why do you question me? Not just my orders, not just my simple commands, but… me?"

Raph swallowed and turned back to face his leader. He almost shuddered under the intensity of the electric blue eyes that scanned him with overwhelming questions.

However, he was able to snarkly reply, "I don't question _you_, hotshot. Just 'cause I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm personally attacking you."

"That's true, Raph, and I understand that. But why…" Leonardo stumbled over his butchered sentences, a completely uncharacteristic action for the level headed leader. After a few short moments, he found his voice. "Why do you argue _everything_ I think of? Do you really believe I have such ludicrous ideas that you can't help but to shove it straight to the ground?"

"I don't shove it to the ground, smart one. I make you think," Raphael growled. Leonardo merely blinked at the vague words, but Raph quickly explained.

"When we're running around like damn fools being chased by hundreds of Kraang or Foot, there's probably a high chance that you'll just spit out any random order in the heat of the moment." The younger turtle looked down at the eldest with a glint of accusation. "You gotta think things through before running into it head-on."

Leonardo's eyes narrowed in a mixture of disbelief and puzzlement. "So just to make things clear, you're saying that when you're screaming in my face, you're actually just trying to help me?" Leo smirked. "I can't say that it's the most effective way to help me think better…"

"Oh I'm sorry, did you want a box of chocolates with that as well?" Raphael sneered, the sarcasm naturally woven tightly to his words. When Leonardo rolled his eyes, he continued. "I'm not Mikey, Leo. I'm not going to sugar coat everything. I say what I think, then you say what you think, and then guess who wins in the end no matter what the hell I think?"

Leo went silent and Raph slightly nodded. "Exactly. But one day, I'm going to be right. I'll bet my life that you won't listen to me and we'll be in huge fucking trouble, but I'm _going_ to be right at least one of these days. And who knows – maybe you'll pull that cotton out of your ears and actually listen to me when that day comes."

Silent seconds passed. Leonardo slightly rolled his shoulders, his mind obviously soaking in the information his hotheaded brother had just given him. Finally, he blinked a few times and reached his eyes up to meet Raphael's. However, he was taken aback by the soft hint to the emerald irises. But just as quickly as it was there - it was gone. Replaced by the normal stubbornness and anger. It doesn't matter; Leo had seen it anyways.

"Fine, Raph," he quietly agreed, and Raphael gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. A large weight on the leader's shoulders seemed to dissipate into the thin air and he inwardly let out a relieved sigh.

He finally had an explanation. He knew that his brothers were with him, not against him.

With that pleasing thought flittering throughout his mind, he smiled. "But I have to say I would much rather prefer if you sugar coated your yelling just a little bit," he added.

At that, Raphael burst into laughter. After a few moments, he pretended to wipe an imaginary tear from his eye and flashed Leo a cunning smile. "Yeah, we all want things, don't we Fearless?"

With that, Leonardo gladly accepted the hand that was offered to him and pulled himself onto his feet. Walking out his reclusive bedroom with his brother by his side, he simply stated, "True. I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself."

Then he yelped as Raph punched him.

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><p><strong>AN**

**Leo and Raph aren't just constantly fighting teens. They're brothers too.**

**This was a fun little fic to do(:**

**Thanks to those who favorited/reviewed. I'm glad you guys enjoyed this as much as I did.**

**Until next time~**


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